‘The wound is the place where the light enters you’: Prince Harry quotes 13th Century poet as he closes Invictus Games after praising spirit of athletes and revealing competition is ‘way better’ than he ‘ever imagined’

• Harry founded the Invictus Games to aid the rehabilitation of injured or sick military personnel and veterans
• He spoke of his pride in the competitors before him, telling them: ‘You have all summited your mountain’
• It comes after he hailed the quality of the games and revealed that he would not be siding with any country

Prince Harry quoted the 13th Century Persian poet Rumi during the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in The Hague in the Netherlands today.

The Duke of Sussex founded the Invictus Games to aid the rehabilitation of injured or sick military personnel and veterans from across the globe, by giving them the challenge of competing in sporting events similar to the Paralympics. 

Harry spoke of his pride in the competitors sitting before him and told the audience: ‘You have all summited your mountain. And I could not be prouder of every single one of you.

‘We, your friends and family, could not be prouder of who you are and what you represent, especially given what it’s taken to get here. Mindset is everything.’

He added: ‘From interviews that Invictus did across the park this week, and as some of you have shared with me personally, many would have taken their own life had it not been for these games.

‘You made the choice to be here, to stay with us, to grow with us, and I can’t explain how much it means to me and how much all of you mean to us. So thank you.

‘This is a blueprint of what the wider world needs today – the power of resilience, the power of healing and the power of recovery.

‘So if, or when, you feel alone, please know that you are not alone. This community is with you. We are all with you. To friends and family, we wouldn’t be here without you.

‘We defend those that need defending. Service and sacrifice is in our blood and don’t you ever forget it.’

Harry said he is ‘honoured’ to have served alongside ‘all of you here tonight’, adding: ‘Thank you for your service and we’ll see you in Dusseldorf.’

It comes after he hailed the quality of the Invictus Games and its competitors saying it is ‘way better’ than he ‘ever imagined’.

Prince Harry quoted the 13th Century Persian poet Rumi during the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in The Hague in the Netherlands today

The Duke of Sussex founded the Invictus Games to aid the rehabilitation of injured or sick military personnel and veterans from across the globe, by giving them the challenge of competing in sporting events similar to the Paralympics

Harry spoke of his pride in the competitors sitting before him and told the audience: ‘You have all summited your mountain. And I could not be prouder of every single one of you

‘We, your friends and family, could not be prouder of who you are and what you represent, especially given what it’s taken to get here. Mindset is everything’

He added: ‘From interviews that Invictus did across the park this week, and as some of you have shared with me personally, many would have taken their own life had it not been for these games’

‘You made the choice to be here, to stay with us, to grow with us, and I can’t explain how much it means to me and how much all of you mean to us. So thank you’

‘This is a blueprint of what the wider world needs today – the power of resilience, the power of healing and the power of recovery’

‘So if, or when, you feel alone, please know that you are not alone. This community is with you. We are all with you. To friends and family, we wouldn’t be here without you’

‘We thank you for sharing and shouldering the weight of our wounds, from vulnerability comes strength, and together all of us are defining the Invictus generation, in or out of uniform we stand up to injustice. We answer the call for help’

‘We defend those that need defending. Service and sacrifice is in our blood and don’t you ever forget it’

A team member takes of her prosthetic leg and cheers at he Games closing ceremony at the Zuiderpark

(Left to right) Lennard Hoornik, Chief Commercial Officer Jaguar Land Rover, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Invictus Games Foundation Chairman Charles Allen, Baron Allen of Kensington CBE

The Duke of Sussex spoke to TV presenter JJ Chalmers on the final day of the 2020 games in The Hague, which were delayed for two years until the past week due to the pandemic.

He also revealed that he would not be siding with any country and is only ‘there for the sport’. 

When asked about the community he had built, Harry said: ‘It can’t just be a community of service, friends and family. There has to be more to it than that. There has to be members of the public. There has to be that mixture.’

Discussing how nervous he was about the return of the games, Harry added: ‘I think it was always, like for us we never knew how good it was going to be and therefore friends and family will always there be screaming and shouting no matter what the level or degree of the sport was. 

‘And then suddenly we’re like, oh, wow, this is actually like a real thing like the quality of sport is way better than we ever imagined.’

Commenting on trauma, he continued: ‘So many of us so many individuals, so many people who are part of this games have experienced and continuing to experience different varying degrees of trauma, whatever that is to them. 

‘If they’ve managed to get through it and they’ve recovered, they’ve come out on top not just as an individual as a family. It is so relatable now, everybody around the world where war is bringing being brought into your living room. 

‘And you don’t have to be on a battlefield to experience trauma, right? Yeah. So what is it that the Invictus Games can now having been through all of this, I guess first, what is that? What can that community support system provide and show and teach members of the public from all the from all across the world?’

Harry concluded: ‘It’s not about the medals. I’m not siding with any country or any nation here. As far as I’m concerned, everyone’s smiling, happy having a good time.’

Prince Harry has hailed the quality of the Invictus Games and its competitors saying it is ‘way better’ than he ‘ever imagined’

Speaking to TV presenter JJ Chalmers, the Duke of Sussex also revealed that he would not be siding with any country and is only ‘there for the sport’

Harry today revealed that the 2025 Invictus Games will take place in Canada in three years’ time, saying the event would take place in partnership with indigenous communities ‘in the spirit of truth and reconciliation’.

He said the Invictus Games 2025 will take place in Vancouver and nearby Whistler – which are about 1,300 miles or a three-hour flight away from his family’s £11million mansion in Montecito, California.

In a statement, Harry said today: ‘As Invictus continues to adapt and evolve, I am extremely excited to announce that the Invictus Games Foundation has selected Canada to host the first-ever Winter Hybrid Games in 2025.

‘The Invictus Games Vancouver-Whistler 2025 will offer a global platform to expand the range and profile of winter adaptive sports. With deep respect, I’m also pleased to share that the Games in Canada will be held in partnership with the First Nations, in the spirit of truth and reconciliation with indigenous communities.’

Harry’s comments could be viewed as a barb against the Commonwealth following controversy over his brother Prince William’s tour of Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas with Kate Middleton last month – where they faced protests, allegations of modern-day colonialism and renewed calls for the realms to finally become republics.

When asked about the community he had built, Harry said: ‘It can’t just be a community of service, friends and family. There has to be more to it than that’

Prince Harry speaks on stage at the Invictus Games 2025 host city announcement at the Invictus Games in The Hague today

The Invictus Games will take place in Vancouver and Whistler in Canada in 2025 the Duke of Sussex has announced today

He also rolled back the years to his bachelor days and let his hair down during a three-hour pub session with friends on the Queen’s 96th birthday.

With Meghan back home in California, Harry took the opportunity to hit an Irish bar for a pint of Guinness in The Hague last night surrounded by five bodyguards, including four men usually protecting the Dutch royals.

But in a sign his wild days are over he turned down free tequila slammers and nursed a single beer all night before leaving at 11pm, the pub’s owner said.

Harry expressed his delight when he took his first sip of the pint of world famous stout at O’Casey’s Irish bar, where other drinkers suggested there may have been a toast to the Queen, who celebrated her 96th birthday at Sandringham yesterday.

Prince Harry poses in an Archewell cap with bar owner John Gulay 51 of O’Casey’s Irish pub where the royal spent three hours with friends in The Hague last night

The royal was out with friends after another controversial interview with a US broadcaster this week, where he claimed one reason he flew to the UK last week to see his grandmother – for a supposedly private meeting – was because he wanted to make sure ‘she’s protected and got the right people around her’. 

The Duke of Sussex sat in a secluded part of the large beer garden with members of his Invictus Games staff and a couple of friends who flown from the UK to join in the pub visit. Among them appears to be former Strictly Come Dancing star JJ Chalmers, who was badly injured in a bomb blast in 2011 while serving as a Royal Marine in Afghanistan and credits Harry and the Invictus Games with saving his life. 

Before marrying Meghan, the Duke of Sussex was famed for his ferocious partying including the notorious occasion he ended up playing ‘strip billiards’ with some girls after a boozy night out in Las Vegas ten years ago. But despite the offer of multiple free drinks – including tequila – Harry stuck to one pint over 180 minutes to keep a clear head for the final day of Invictus today.

Prince Harry dons some sunglasses as he walks with James Holt, Archewell Foundation Director, at the Invictus Games in The Hague today after a night in the pub last night

The Duke of Sussex (centre) with King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands (left) today

In his latest interview on US television, the Duke of Sussex cast doubt about his presence at the jubilee celebrations in London in June amid the ongoing security row with the UK’s Home Office. 

However, in a revelation that appalled Brits, he also added: ‘Home for me now is, you know, for the time being, it’s in the States. And it feels that way as well.’

This comes despite his lawyers telling the High Court in February of the UK: ‘This is and always will be his home.’

The Duke said he and his wife Meghan Markle had been ‘welcomed with open arms and we have such a great community up in Santa Barbara’ in California.

Prince Harry spoke to NBC’s Today programme and praised the Queen’s ‘great sense of humour’ during yesterday’s interview

In the interview, Harry refused to say whether he misses his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William amid their ongoing feud – but insisted that he talks with the Queen ‘about things she can’t talk about with anybody else’. 

He also claimed that he was ‘making sure’ the Queen is ‘protected’ and has ‘the right people around her’. 

In addition, he praised the Queen’s ‘sense of humour’ and spoke of their ‘really special relationship’ following their surprise meeting at Windsor Castle last Thursday where he had tea with her and his wife Meghan Markle. 

Harry also spoke about his mantra of ‘trying to make the world a better place for my kids’ while explaining his fears that he could face ‘burnout’ while working from home at his £11million mansion in Montecito, California. 

And, talking about his late mother Princess Diana, Harry told NBC’s Today that he feels her ‘presence in almost everything that I do now’ and he talks to his son Archie about her and there are photos of her in their home. 

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